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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/30067320">“You’re very distracting”</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Spacingoutttt/pseuds/Spacing-Outttt'>Spacing-Outttt (Spacingoutttt)</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>The Hollow (Cartoon)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops &amp; Cafés, Alternate Universe - High School, Background Mira/Vanessa, Bisexual Kai (The Hollow), Coffee Shops, F/F, Fluff, Gay Adam (The Hollow), How Do I Tag, M/M, Mention of Kai’s terrible parents, Mira and Reeve tag team to get adam a date(?), Mutual Pining, No beta reader we die like skeet, Reeve is a smug little bitch, We love him anyway, does the highschool tag even count if the settings not highschool?, its mentioned only for like a second though, they're both pining idiots sir</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-03-15</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-03-15</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-15 18:15:18</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>4</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>3,649</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/30067320</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Spacingoutttt/pseuds/Spacing-Outttt</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>A kaidam coffee shop au where neither of them work at.</p><p>Adam is immediately curious about the redhead he’s certain he’s seen before...</p><p>Kai needs a distraction from the essay he’s working on and a very nice one comes along.</p><p>Mira and Reeve watch from afar as their friends pine over eachother.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Adam/Kai (The Hollow), Mira/Vanessa (The Hollow)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>27</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Reeve starts an interrogation</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>I wrote this fic MONTHS ago and for some reason I just randomly had a “the hollow brain rot” so I decided to edit it :D</p><p>(I wanted to curbstomp my younger self for using first person)</p><p>Tw: cursing</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Adam jogged through the memorized streets that he always ran through every morning. His running playlist sounded through his earbuds as he ran through the chilly air that nipped at his flushed face. The sun was covered by clouds, hiding the warmth that a jog was preferred for, adding a slight breeze. The wind tickled his face and legs. He shivered and lifted the hood of his hoodie over his head to conquer the chill.</p>
<p>          The jogger attempted to keep his breathing steady, arms moving in rhythm with his legs as he got closer to the small homey cafe that he would always stop at on his jogs. </p>
<p>          ‘I could use a hot pick-me-up right about now...’</p>
<p>          It was conveniently close by, plus it was where two of his best friends, Reeve and Mira worked at. Sometimes he would have money on him and stop by to say hello.</p>
<p>          Adam stopped for a second in front of the bustling cafe placing his hands on his knees, trying to catch his breath. After a second he straightened himself back up, stretching his back, and took out his earbuds to stuff them back into his pocket before entering. </p>
<p>          He heard a small jingle while entering, alerting anyone who heard that he just came in. Not that anyone noticed, the cafe was packed with loud chatter cancelling out the sound of the jingle that signaled his enter. He sighed in contentment at the familiarity of the cafe and pulled down his hood, when the door closed the warmth of the cafe hit him at full force.</p>
<p>          The warm feel and decor attracted many people, the coffee was also pretty good. It wasn’t usually this packed, but the chill in the air probably gave a few new people the idea to try out a warm caffeinated beverage at the small cafe. The tall male headed towards the long line that was waiting to get their coffee. Usually, he would be reading the menu, seeing what he should try out today but a flash of red from the side of his vision caught his eye.</p>
<p>          Sitting alone at a booth was a freckled guy with red hair that flashed as the small amount of light from the window reflected off of him, He had a pale complexion, (a contrast from Adam himself) having him stand out from the brown and tan color palette of the cafe. He appeared tall and lanky as he hunched over his laptop, blue eyes glued to the screen, occasionally taking a sip from his beverage that looked like it was toppling over with how much whip cream was on top. He had headphones on to block out the noise of the chatty cafe, he almost seemed familiar...</p>
<p>         "Hey! you're holding up the line." Adam swung his head towards the girl behind him who tapped his shoulder. She irritatedly tapped her foot, her face scrunched up as if she wanted to scold him.</p>
<p>         "Oh, sorry!” The blushing male exclaimed as he shuffled forward. He looked up to notice there was one person in front of him.</p>
<p>          ‘When I got into the line there were 4.’</p>
<p>          He shook his head trying not to think about how much time passed and started to look back towards the menu to figure out what he wanted, he, unfortunately, didn't have that much time.</p>
<p>         "Oh lo and behold! If it isn't King Adam!" Reeve in all his dreadlock glory sarcastically remarked with a grin "Couldn't you go and hold up Mira's line instead of mine?" </p>
<p>          He gestured towards Mira who had her raven hair up in a ponytail, she was taking orders from a girl with a pointed face and dark purple hair, Adam immediately recognized the girl as Vanessa who has been flirting with Mira for over the past week. Of course, Mira being, well Mira. Has tried her hardest to be professional but you could see the blush on her olive skin from where he was standing.</p>
<p>          The brunette couldn't say anything though, assuming his cheeks were starting to form a shade of red as well from being called out by Reeve for delaying the line. He really hoped that he would excuse it as the cold from outside.</p>
<p>          He definitely did not excuse it from the cold and raised an eyebrow, crossing his arms.</p>
<p>          ‘If Reeve wasn't taking my order I would have wiped that smirk right off his face.’</p>
<p>         “Good morning to you too, Reeve,” Adam said in his most monotone voice."I just wanted to irritate you a bit this morning, can't have a rush hour without an annoying customer," he retorted. Hopefully to dismiss the curiosity of why he suddenly stopped in the middle of the line.</p>
<p>          He scoffed, rolling his eyes, still not convinced but needing to take Adams' order, "sooooo, what would you like, your majesty?" Adam gave himself a quick congratulations for changing the subject. </p>
<p>          The one who held up the line looked back up at the menu, "uuuhhhhhh…" he blanked, he hesitantly looked back towards Reeve who looked dumbfounded. Adam cringed knowing that he had more than enough time to figure out what he wanted to get. He gave him an apologetic grin and a 'please forgive me, I promise I have a good reason' face even when he knew he didn't. </p>
<p>          The tired cashier in front him sighed, rubbing the bridge of his nose. "Okay, what's up, you always know what to get. You also stalled the line. I would assume it was because you were looking at the menu, but you give me an 'uuuuhhhhh' knowing how much I fucking hate when customers do that." </p>
<p>          He nervously laughed taking a swift glance towards the redhead, before quickly looking back at the annoyed cashier who had his arms crossed tapping his fingers impatiently. "Come on Adam, I have people waiting." </p>
<p>         "Dude, it's nothing! I just spaced out." He did not need another crush for Reeve to tease gun over.</p>
<p>         “Bullshit.” Reeve narrowed his eyes as if he was about to interrogate Adam right inside of a cafe.</p>
<p>          He started to notice how Adams eyes kept darting towards the tables. Reeve curiously followed Adam’s gaze, eyes widening in realization.</p>
<p>          When Adam noticed he instantly looked away, anywhere but towards the cute boy that was oddly familiar. His blush deepened, thankfully there were a lot of people in the cafe so his nosey friend couldn't find that culprit that stole his best friend's heart. A knowing grin spread across Reeves' face.</p>
<p>          He was about to open his big stupid mouth when the girl behind Adam interrupted with a polite cough, signaling that they were taking a bit too long.</p>
<p>          Adam thanked whatever blessed him at that moment. </p>
<p>          Reeve looked like he was about to flip the girl off. Instead, he typed in a random caffeine drink placed as Adams order.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Mira is put into the equation</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>"$4.50" Reeve grunted, Adam stuck his hand in his pocket taking out the small bundle of cash he had. He handed him 5 dollars trying to avoid looking directly at him. When the annoying cashier gave him back the change Adam made the terrible mistake of looking up. Reeve had that annoying stupid face he makes whenever something like this happens, that told him ‘you can’t stop me’. Adam glared back at him giving him a ‘don't you dare’ look. The smug cashier just smiled in an overly polite way and shooed him away.</p><p>The dark brunette groaned internally at the conversation he just had, he hated Reeve so much. Now thanks to him he couldn't keep his mind off the guy sitting at the booth. </p><p>‘It just feels like I’ve seen him somewhere… Maybe he lived in town? Of course, he does, idiot. Why would he be in a small crowded coffee shop if he didn’t? Does he go to my school? Possibly…’</p><p>He caught myself staring again and looked away. Luckily the cute stranger was too invested in what was happening on his laptop to notice. </p><p>After a while Adam’s name was called, he weaved through the bunched up crowd to get to his beverage. Standing there was Mira with a sweet smile, but if you knew her well you could see a glint in her eyes that said she was up to something. </p><p>‘Reeve definitely told her.’</p><p>He knows that Mira is observant and that Adam can’t hide anything from her.</p><p>“Here you go! A caramel macchiato and a muffin.” </p><p>Usually, Adam would have a to-go drink because all the seats would normally be full and he could just drink the coffee on his jog. His friends knew this of course, even when he didn’t ask for a to-go they would do it anyway. But this time, the drink was put into a coffee mug that had to be given back when you're finished. The kind that forced you to take a seat because you couldn’t just take it with you.</p><p>He stared at the order in defeat, He looked up at Mira almost pleadingly. Her smile grew as if she was holding herself back from laughing at him. </p><p>“You’re not that sly, you know.” She remarked, handing him the caramel macchiato and muffin.</p><p>He nodded “yeah… I know.” </p><p>She chuckled and pointed towards the boy she immediately knew Adam was crushing on, </p><p>‘How does she know every single time, How the fuck does she figure it out’-</p><p>“His name is Kai. He comes here in the afternoon but decided that today he would come in the morning, a real cheeky guy.” She stopped pointing and looked back towards the person she had trapped inside the cafe. He took his eyes off of the stranger who he now knew is named Kai. </p><p>“Gonna be honest, I really like the guy, he seems fun and sweet. We always end up making small talk. We told him we could keep his table empty for no distractions while he does whatever he has to do for school. Buuut some exceptions can be made,” she winked at me.</p><p>‘I'm doomed.’</p><p>“He also goes to our school so use that to your advantage!” He blinked back in surprise, that’s why Kai looked familiar. He did go to our school. </p><p>“I don’t remember seeing him in any of our classes though?” He noted, Mira rolled her eyes.</p><p>“He’s a freshman, doofus. Have you seen our halls? It’s always packed of course you don’t remember seeing him.” He mouthed a soft oh, in response. “Now shoo! Go talk to him! I have people waiting.” Adam gave a quick nod and a half attempted wave with the hand that was holding the muffin as he walked towards the table Kai was sitting at. </p><p>He maneuvered his way through the crowd of people until he was almost right in front of the booth. Now that he was closer he could see the small details he couldn’t see before through the continuously moving crowd, the freshman in front of him had dark deep blue eyes that popped out from his pale skin, freckles littering his face. His hair was a tangled mess that was somehow charming. His lips were chewed up from habit and put into a straight line with his eyebrows scrunched together in concentration. </p><p>Adam’s stomach did somersaults not helping the appetite he needed to eat the muffin, he felt his cheeks grow warmer. He didn’t seem to notice he was there, having his headphones onhis ears and eyes glued to the laptop. The one standing felt bad for disrupting him but he didn’t want to sit down unannounced.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. They finally meet</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Kai’s fingers flew across the keyboard, usually, he would be waking up at this time because it’s a Sunday. But instead of waking up, He was at the cafe trying to finish an essay that’s due tomorrow.</p><p>‘Curse my procrastination.’ </p><p>He would’ve come in the afternoon but he didn’t want to stay in the cafe till night and annoy Reeve and Mira who kindly let him have his own table to avoid distractions. He also really didn't want to stay home due to both of his parents being back from their vacation.</p><p>‘Yeah… Screaming isn't the best background noise for schoolwork…’</p><p>He tried to concentrate but history was probably the most boring subject in the world. </p><p>‘I don’t care what happened 500 years ago, people did stuff just like people are doing stuff now.’</p><p>His right leg kept bouncing in place out of boredom of anxiety of not finishing it in time. He sighed and took another sip of his caffeine sugar-filled mocha. It probably wasn't helping the bouncing in his leg and the now tapping finger on the table but what are you gonna do. </p><p>He was trying to pay attention. He really was! He even put on noise cancelling headphones so he wouldn't tune in on any interesting conversations and get distracted! He just couldn't finish this damn essay.</p><p>His mind was split in half, one side wanted a break and a distraction while the other wanted him to finish. The. Goddamn. Essay.</p><p>One side got what it wanted when someone tapped his shoulder. Kai jumped inside his seat whipping his head towards the person who did that. He took off his headphones and was about to tell whoever this person was to go sit somewhere else (even though he was secretly grateful for the distraction) until he saw who it was.</p><p>The brunette in front of him had a dark skin tone that complimented his forest green with a hint of hazel. He had a strong build and seemed to have jogged here with the way his face was flushed, including the fact that he was wearing running shorts and a hoodie. The part of Kai’s brain that was hoping for a distraction was throwing confetti and dancing around as it stomped on Kai’s essay that was long forgotten.</p><p>“Sorry to bother you, one of the cashiers told me to sit here. All the other tables were full and I forgot to order a to-go,” the handsome person in front of him flashed an embarrassed smile lifting up his cup to show that it wasn’t a to-go order. I caught myself staring and mentally slapped myself. </p><p>“Oh! No, no. It’s fine!” He said a little too fast making his voice squeak. He hated that his pale skin was probably giving away the blush creeping up on his face. For some reason, the smile on the stranger's face grew making the redheads insides turn to mush.</p><p>“Thanks,” he placed his cup down along with his muffin and sat down in front of me. He extended his arm over the table, “my name’s Adam, I think we go to the same school?” He quickly connected the dots. This is the guy all the freshmen girls gossip and swoon over. </p><p>‘Unless there’s another Adam, but I highly doubt that one looks as good as this one.’</p><p>He shook his hand and tried not to think too much about it. </p><p>“The name’s Kai,” he said, introducing himself, smiling awkwardly as he retracted his hand. “I think I’ve seen you in the halls once or twice.” Adam nodded in acknowledgment placing both of his hands around the mug.</p><p>“I'm a Sophomore, so it would make sense if we didn’t see each other that much.” He mentioned after taking a small sip from his drink. </p><p>“What gave you the idea that I wasn’t a Sophomore too?” </p><p>‘Bad Kai! Stupid Kai! You don't just blurt out something like that! He isn't some friend you can. joke around with!’</p><p>He mentally scolded himself for having no mind to mouth filter. He didn't notice Adam's face turning a deeper red out of embarrassment as he chastised himself.</p><p>Adam blinked a few times and composed himself, “you just look like a freshman.” He said shrugging as if it was as simple as that.</p><p>The redhead gasped in mocking offense. “How dare you! I do not look like a freshman, I’ve seen a fair amount of ‘how not to look like a freshman’ videos. Thank you very much!” I crossed my arms and sulked to add a dramatic effect.</p><p>He laughed softly at his antics, Kai praised myself for being able to do that. It’s good to know someone liked his ridiculous and unnecessary jokes. He kept the annoyed facade to hide how Adam’s laugh made the butterflies in my stomach flutter.</p><p>“Sorry, but it’s the truth, you give off ‘I’m a freshman’ vibes.” He said in a teasing way. Kai pouted exaggeratedly. </p><p>He was frustrated that he wasn’t mad. If that makes sense… Usually he hated when people teased him, it made him feel like less than what he was, but for some reason right now he clearly knew that Adam was just joking around.</p><p>“Alright, fine.” Kai answered, ending the conversation, even though he wanted them to keep talking. He tried to search for a topic but couldn’t find one.</p><p>Adam went to take a sip of his drink, kai subconsciously copying him. A silence fell between them, it wasn’t uncomfortable, maybe a little awkward but it was nice. Kai was about to go back to his laptop when he noticed something written on Adam’s beverage.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. A helpful distraction</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Kai’s eyes watered as he started to fall into a fit of giggles. On Adams drink, there was a sticker you would usually put on to-go cups where the name is supposed to be written. But instead, the sticker placed on his mug read ‘Royal pain in the ass’.<br/>Adam looked at him in confusion, tilting his head to the side as if that would make him understand the situation better.</p><p>“Um, you okay Kai?” He chuckled with Kais contagious laughter.</p><p>    “Your- your drinks, its,” flushed from laughing he tried to compose himself but small suppressed giggles kept escaping his lips. Kai ended up just pointing at Adam’s mug where the sticker was placed.</p><p>    Adam curiously lifted up his mug to eye level. He sighed in annoyance when he read it. As if shit like this happened on a daily basis, he put his mug back on the table and glared towards Reeve’s direction.</p><p>    “Fucking Reeve…” Adam muttered under his breath.</p><p>Kai moved his head to look at Reeve and Mira who were taking orders a little slower as the rush hour started to slow down. He look back towards Adam who was now tapping his fingers against the table and looking out the window.</p><p>“I would like to assume you’re either good friends with Reeve, or, you both hate each other.” Kai said, remarking his observation.</p><p> Adam shrugged “it’s a mix of both,” He nods towards the cashier's direction, “I’m also friends with Mira but she doesn’t do shit like this every day.” He says as he gestures to the mug, “Reeves made it his goal to do something like this every time I come here” Kai nodded with a smile on his face, even though the sophomore looked annoyed he had a fond look in his eyes. </p><p>“You’re friends with them? You seem to know their names.” Adam asked, abruptly changing the subject.</p><p>He thought about it for a second. “No, not really, more like… Acquaintances? They’re really nice and let me have my own empty table so I can focus, finish assignments, and do homework.” </p><p>Adam chuckled to himself. “I don’t seem to be helping,” he gestures towards the laptop that has been long forgotten, including the essay Kai needed to finish. </p><p>The freshman groaned internally, letting his head fall into his hands. “I completely forgot! I have a history essay to finish that’s due tomorrow. Plus history is the most boring subject ever, I don’t know how I’m supposed to concentrate!” he exclaimed exasperatedly, throwing his hands in the air. “My brain has been begging for a distraction and then you come along and start a conversation.” He folds his arms on the table and dramatically lays his head on top of his arms as he glares at the laptop as if it personally offended him.</p><p>The brunette just blankly stared at the sudden burst of emotion in Kai’s sudden rant, “you looked pretty concentrated to me. Well, before I came and sat down” He commented helpfully, a bit of guilt seeping through his words, immediately making Kai feel bad for throwing half the blame on him.</p><p>The freckled boy looked to the side, “that was me trying to concentrate on concentrating,” he mumbled.</p><p>Adam huffed a small laugh in response.</p><p>“Maybe I could help? You know, instead of distracting you.” He suggested, he smiled confidently at the distressed colleague in front of him, Kai raised his head from the table and leaned back. He closed his eyes pretending to look like he was considering it, (when in reality he’d take any help he could get).</p><p>“What history teacher do you have?” Adam asked curiously awaiting an answer. Kai opened one of his eyes comedically as if he was still pondering Adam’s suggestion.</p><p>“Ms. Anderson, why do you ask?”</p><p>“I used to have her! I can totally help you with whatever your essay is on.” His confidence grew with his grin.</p><p>Kai’s heart swelled.</p><p>“Alright, fine. Stop pestering,” he huffed, attempting to look like he finally gave in instead of looking eager and desperate for any help at all.</p><p>If it was even possible Adam’s smile grew even wider as if he just won the lottery, and that prize was helping out Kai.</p><p>By now the cafe had slowed down from loud chatter to a soft hush, droplets started to fall onto the window as rain replaced the cloudy sky from moments before. The cafe music was finally present now that the chatter has died down. Unbeknownst to Kai and Adam, Reeve and Mira watched from behind the counters, with the rush hour gone they had nothing else to do but spy on very obvious crushing friends.</p>
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